As Texas grows, Oncor's system is growing with it. And Amy Zapletal is key to gaining approval for the growing number of transmission lines.

Zapletal, Senior Project Manager, Transmission, works with a team focused on getting the green light for a CCN, or Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. The Public Utility Commission of Texas must approve a CCN application for Oncor to move ahead with building new or upgrading certain other high voltage transmission lines.

“There are absolutely a tremendous number of CCN projects going right now," Zapletal said. “A lot of it is to support all of the growth that Texas is seeing and the expansion of the grid and providing more resiliency for the grid."

Zapletal, a native of Ennis, graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from Texas A&M, a career path sparked by a high school class in Environmental Science.

“There was one particular chapter on wastewater treatment," she said. “One of the first pictures was of filthy, dirty wastewater. And as we progressed through the unit, it came out the other end super crystal clean. And I was fascinated."

After college, she worked as an engineering consultant in the Houston area, supporting water and wastewater projects. In that job, she worked closely with government bodies to gain approval for water projects.

“I'm doing something similar at Oncor," Zapletal said. “There's just something different in the pipeline."

She works closely with transmission line planners, the regulatory and legal teams and construction. She staffs Oncor public meetings where property owners along proposed transmission line routes can question her and others. Once the CCN application is filed, Zapletal will serve as an expert witness on Oncor's behalf.

“I learned how to do this job by doing this job," she said.

Zapletal said she's thankful for the pioneering women engineers who came before her. “In the last 20 years, there have been great advancements in the acceptance of women in engineering roles," she said. Oncor, she believes, is a company where the work of women and men is appreciated.

“I have found that Oncor is a company that has limitless possibilities and opportunities for women," Zapletal said. “I've found my work here so rewarding. I couldn't have intentionally found a position that would have brought me such satisfaction."​